Liu Ziwen sat upright, twisting the white cloth in his hand, squinting carefully, and wiping the scabbard.
He turned his head from time to time and glanced calmly outside the lobby, as if waiting for something.
The young head of the Liu family holds a short sword in his hand.
The specific condition of the sword inside the sheath cannot be seen.
But just looking at the scabbard, it is inlaid with emerald agate, pearls and gems, which is extremely luxurious.
Not to mention the delicate tassels intertwined with colorful ribbons on the hilt.
It is of course extremely valuable.
Finally, there was a sound of footsteps outside the hall, followed by the sound of Liu Zian talking and laughing with a strange man.
"Boss Li, please come here. I have specially prepared Chang'an white tea for you. It is your favorite flavor."
"Hahaha, if the first master and the second master are polite, then I will be disrespectful."
This is a pure and fluent Dazhou dialect, with some Guanzhong accent.
But when Liu Zian brought the owner of this elegant talk into the hall, he saw clearly that this person was actually a Persian Hu man with two beards and dressed like a shrewd businessman.
"Boss Li, long time no see."
Liu Ziwen suddenly smiled brightly, stood up, handed the dagger and white cloth to the maid, and went to the door to greet her in person.
The three of them exchanged pleasantries, then returned to the hall and sat down again.
The irrelevant people retreated one after another. Apart from Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian, and the three Persian merchants, there was only a little maidservant who was holding a sword and lowering her eyes.
The Persian businessman named Li Li took a sip of Chang'an's popular white tea, smiled slightly, and took a sip:
"Master Liu, a new batch of goods has arrived. Remember to check it."
Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian looked at each other.
The former nodded, "My brother-in-law has already sent someone. Thank you, Boss Li, for making another trip."
Li Li shook his head and muttered:
"It doesn't matter, we are all doing things for the nobles. There is no hard work or not, it's part of the job. If we insist on hard work, it is the hardest work for Master Liu Da who has been here for so many years."
Liu Ziwen smiled and said nothing.
The Persian businessman put down his tea cup and looked at the pair of Liu brothers in front of him and the familiar dagger in the hand of the maid next to him. He sighed a little:
"Tell me, how many times has this happened?"
Liu Ziwen said without thinking: "Thirty-seven times."
Li Li sighed:
"Yes, there have been thirty-seven trips, at least three times every year. It has been ten years now. Although I am a regular customer, I have not yet taken a good tour of Longcheng County. This place is full of outstanding people.
, it is a good place to have talents like the first and second boss."
Liu Ziwen nodded: "A place that can help noble people is a good place."
Liu Zian praised: "Now that it's over, I'll take Boss Li to visit Dragon City in person."
The red-haired Persian businessman with a hooked nose nodded:
"As the boss said, a good place is a place that can attract the attention of noble people."
There was a smile in his light green eyes, and he joked to Liu Zian:
"Well, I'm afraid that by then the two masters will be so prosperous that they will forget about me."
Liu Zian's sick face forced out a smile:
"Boss Li is joking. If you want to be successful, it's Boss Li who made it first. Over the years, so many things have come in, but no one has noticed. Boss Li is the first to do it."
"It's just a life of hard work. Don't joke about being a master."
The Persian businessman laughed and shook his head, not taking it seriously.
In the eyes of the noble Wei family, he is naturally not the one who deserves the most credit, because it is the Liu family that earns this incredible wealth.
Of course, the corresponding huge risks are also borne by the Liu family.
And he is just a businessman running errands. He should be a white glove for the noble Wei family. He should be obedient and sensible. Why would he come in and take such a big risk if he has nothing to do?
White gloves, ask less, do more.
Moreover, he is a businessman. Although he has a gambling bent, he does not like stud.
As for the Liu brothers in front of him, Li Li, who had met many people, could tell that they liked Stud very much.
This is very different from him.
The Persian merchants knew nothing about this and looked on with cold eyes.
But this does not prevent the familiarity and politeness on paper.
They are just different roles under the noble man's feet, with different ways of living.
Everything depends on whether the things the Liu family comes up with or the results they say can satisfy you before your patience runs out.
This is the barometer of friendship and loyalty between the two parties.
Li Li understood, and he knew that the Liu brothers in front of him also understood.
We have had so many interactions over so many years, and all have followed this tacit understanding.
However, even though I have been here many times, I am very familiar with Penglangdu Pier.
But Li Li was still secretly surprised by what the Liu family did secretly by using Guyue Sword Shop to cover up.
Because too many resources are consumed.
In more than ten years, he has brought thirty-seven batches of goods.
The list that the Liu family handed over each time was indeed not long, but it cost an astronomical amount of gold and silver, and also involved many scarce supplies for Qi practitioners that even those with money might not be able to buy.
Persian merchants were not inexperienced people.
From the deserts of the Western Regions to the islands of the South China Sea, he has traveled all over the world for so many years. Even among the top merchant circles in Chang'an and Luodu, he has a good reputation for being low-key.
What rare treasures have you never seen, what strange creations have you never seen, what tricks have you never heard of?
He has seen two and a half high-grade Qi practitioners who saw Shenlong disappear.
But in front of him, there were a few ordinary craftsman sword furnaces by the river in the small county town of Jiangnan Province, but it was an eye-opener for businessman Li Li.
It is like a treasure-devouring glutton, with a greedy mouth that continuously swallows countless resources, but it still only makes a sound.
Moreover, the Persian businessman remembered that he was also drinking tea during a previous delivery. He even heard the Liu brothers say that when the sword embryo was found, it was already a semi-finished product, and it was only one step away from the successful forging.
And it was this last step that consumed so much effort and time from the top powerful people in the Great Zhou Dynasty behind him.
It was still in its golden decade when its power was at its peak.
Of course, this is also related to the fact that this matter needs to be carried out secretly to avoid being discovered by political opponents, and the transportation of resources needs to be concealed and slow.
But it’s also shocking enough.
Anyway, over the years, because of Li Li's assistance in this matter, he has gained more and more resources and authority from the huge forces behind him, which even made him feel guilty as a businessman.
If the Liu family in Longcheng hadn't behaved very honestly over the years and had no intention of expansion, the Liu family's business operations outside Longcheng County would have been under the noses of Li Li and the forces behind them.
He has to wonder if the Liu family has embezzled resources and made fun of noble people...
Li Li recently heard from a colleague that the battle on the top floor of the imperial court in Luoyang, the capital of the gods, had reached its most intense and torturous stage.
Even the retainers and staff who stood under the "shade" of the power could feel the scorching sunshine and the shaking of the trees.
Therefore, before coming on this trip, Li Li took the initiative to ask for instructions from his superiors and suggested whether to temporarily tighten the resource investment here.
As a result, the instructions from a certain prince named Wei above were... to increase the intensity.
The Persian merchants felt solemn.
At this moment, in the reception hall of Liu's family, the three people sitting down were drinking tea with their heads down and were silent.
"What a great tea. Mr. Liu is very interested."
Li Li was the first to come to his senses, put down his teacup, and said with a smile:
"Isn't the list a little long this time? Haha, it's okay. We are all old acquaintances. Just take it out. I am a hard worker and I am used to running errands."
Unexpectedly, the young head of the Liu family in front of him shook his head slightly.
Liu Ziwen glanced at Liu Zian, who took out a nearly blank piece of paper from his arms and handed it to the Persian businessman.
This was thrown to him by the old craftsman.
"Hey, why is there only one?"
Li Li looked surprised, looked at the only line of words on the paper, and whispered:
"Mo Family Sword Box..."
After a pause, his expression suddenly changed: "Master, you only need a sword box. What do you mean..."
The Persian businessman seemed to be vaguely aware of something. He grasped the armrests of the wooden chair with both hands and leaned his upper body forward.
Liu Ziwen's expression was a mixture of relief and sadness.
He nodded and gestured towards the Persian merchant to the luxurious dagger held by the obedient maid next to him:
"Boss Li, please take this last token back and give it to the prince. The prince will understand what to do after seeing the sword."
Li Li, who had just finished drinking tea, felt a little thirsty for a while, but he had no intention of picking up the tea cup.
His green eyes, like those of a greedy old turtle, widened as he stared intently at the dagger held by the maid. Of course he knew what signal the 'last token' in Liu Ziwen's mouth represented.
The Persian businessman's gaffe made Liu Ziwen laugh, but he was not surprised.
Today when he was cleaning his dagger and waiting for the guests, his hands were shaking a little.
Liu Ziwen calmly stretched out his hand toward the maid holding the sword:
"Give me the sword and go down."
The little maid held the sword in both hands.
Turn around and leave.
Liu Ziwen took the sword.
He weighed it in his hands.
Hold the sword backwards and draw it.
Get up and walk.
Blood splattered all over his face.
She's still moving.
Stab again.
The two-foot-eight-inch sword blade was at the same level as her ribs. When the sword was inserted without the handle, the chest of the fallen maid was a little heaving.
Done.
In front of the other two people, Liu Ziwen drew his dagger for the second time.
The hot blood droplets belonging to the ventricles slipped from the cold sword spine and dripped from the maid's chest to her forehead.
The exquisite sword tassel was wrapped in great detail by Liu Ziwen on the palm of the hand holding the sword without being stained red.
He reached out and took the white cloth from Liu Zian, carefully wiped the slightly warm sword blade, then spread out the still white cloth and signaled to the Persian merchant.
There wasn't even a trace of blood on it.
Liu Zian's expression remained as usual.
Li Li's eyes widened and his expression was very exciting.
It was not because there was a cold corpse under his feet, but after a simple demonstration, he discovered that the dagger in front of him was edged!
As agreed in the past.
Every time a Persian merchant delivers goods, he will take a dagger prepared by the Liu family as a token and present it to the nobleman.
This is some kind of... ritual.
In the previous thirty-six deliveries over the past ten years, he had retrieved thirty-six token daggers.
But they are all unsharp.
Because once the dagger given as a gift is sharpened, it means... that the sword is getting better.
Li Li carefully took the newly bladed luxury dagger with both hands. His eyes were hot and he was amazed.
All you need to do is bring this dagger back, and when the next special person makes the last "delivery", the Mohist sword box will be delivered, and you will be able to take away a sword that the noble Wei family will never forget!
The Persian businessman looked satisfied, twirled his mustache and nodded in agreement:
"There are very few precious sword caskets made by the Mo family's mechanism skills that exist in the world. Each one is a rare and unique one, but I have heard about the whereabouts of one of them. I will definitely get it."
Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian both nodded.
However, facing Li Li with a bright smile, the solemn and serious expressions on the two brothers' faces did not dissipate, but instead became... more solemn.
This strangeness naturally fell into the shrewd and keen eyes of the Persian businessmen.
He glanced at them and asked directly: "What's going on with the eldest master and the second master? They are obviously happy, so why do they look sad?"
The Liu brothers looked at each other.
Liu Ziwen sighed, and Liu Zian next to him helped to speak:
"Did Boss Li notice anything different when he brought the caravan to Dragon City?"
Li Li nodded and squinted:
"I see, it seems that a new river channel is being dug, which is quite impressive...Why, does this matter make it a little difficult for you two?"
Liu Ziwen dropped his eyes and said:
"The troublesome thing for the time being is not the new river channel, but the one who built the river channel...the new county magistrate."